Martino went to Ohio State University where he studied design. After graduation, he heard computer animation pioneer Chuck Csuri speak. "I was absolutely blown away. No one was doing what he was showing us. I hadn't seen images like that anywhere before," Martino said. He returned to the university and earned in 1989 a master's degree, studying at the Computer Graphics Research Group (later renamed to Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design), founded by Csuri.
After graduation, Steve went to Los Angeles, where he worked in animation and visual effects. In 2001, he joined Connecticut-based Blue Sky Studios. There he co-directed computer-animated Horton Hears a Who! and Ice Age: Continental Drift. He directed The Peanuts Movie (2015), an animated feature film adaptation of Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts.
In February 2018, it was reported that Martino and Karen Disher would direct an upcoming animated fantasy musical, under the working title The Fright Stuff, for Blue Sky Studios. The film was originally scheduled for release in 2023, but was moved to an unknown date. The production studio was closed in 2021.

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